#1
Thu, 10/04/2014 - 16:05
Buying duty free
So, many years back a big advantage of going overseas was the ability to buy stuff duty free. Now it's so easy to get stuff via the likes of eBay or grey market importers like Kogan, the advantages seem to be dropping. On the flip side, there can be great deals for overseas air flights - sometimes well under $100 each way if you don't mind carrying everything with you in a small bag - so a weekend shopping trip overseas is actually not out of the ball park.
So the question is - if you were in the market for a big ticket item like a camera, would you consider a long weekend overseas shopping trip and if so to where? It seems to be pretty easy to get return flights to/from Singapore or Auckland for $300 or so....
ninhursag
Regular Member
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Good topic.
A lot of people in Europe fly to US every now and then to get their shopping done. This trend is so big that they have built a huge mall next to Newark Airport in New Jersey for weekend shoppers from Europe.
From Australia, I don't think it would make much sense to travel to places like KL, Bangkok, Singapore etc. solely for shopping purposes unless you also want a tooth extracted or get some medical treatment and you will definitely end up saving a lot of money.
It will be interesting to hear from others though!
kb
MOD
When you can buy round trip tickets overseas for $300 or less, then if you are planning (anyhow) to get a camera (for example) that costs $1k or less then that $300 trip becomes a $200 trip... throw in some duty free alcohol.... combined with the frequent flyer points and/or status credits you might gain.... plus if you're a foodie then heading for places in SE Asia can be attractive.....
Actually, I know of people who specifically go on long trips to rack up the status credits so they can in turn get things like free access to airline club lounges, pre-allocated seats, exit row seating etc..... so for them a little bit of duty free savings would be an added bonus!
ninhursag
Regular Member